The Day of Atonement

16 Now the Lord spoke to Moses after ^(A)the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered profane fire before the Lord, and died; ² and the Lord said to Moses: “Tell Aaron your brother ^(B)not to come at just any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for ^(C)I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.

^3 [a]“Thus Aaron shall ^(D)come into the Holy Place: ^(E)with the blood of a young bull as a sin offering, and of a ram as a burnt offering. ⁴ He shall put the ^(F)holy linen tunic and the linen trousers on his body; he shall be girded with a linen sash, and with the linen turban he shall be attired. These are holy garments. Therefore ^(G)he shall wash his body in water, and put them on. ⁵ And he shall take from ^(H)the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats as a sin offering, and one ram as a burnt offering.

⁶ “Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering, which is for himself, and ^(I)make atonement for himself and for his house. ⁷ He shall take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. ⁸ Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat. ⁹ And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the Lord’s lot fell, and offer it as a sin offering. ¹⁰ But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make ^(J)atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness.

¹¹ “And Aaron shall bring the bull of the sin offering, which is for ^(K)himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house, and shall kill the bull as the sin offering which is for himself. ¹² Then he shall take ^(L)a censer full of burning coals of fire from the altar before the Lord, with his hands full of ^(M)sweet incense beaten fine, and bring it inside the veil. ^13 (N)And he shall put the incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of incense may cover the ^(O)mercy seat that is on the Testimony, lest he ^(P)die. ^14 (Q)He shall take some of the blood of the bull and ^(R)sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side; and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.

^15 (S)“Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, bring its blood ^(T)inside the veil, do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat. ¹⁶ So he shall ^(U)make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, for all their sins; and so he shall do for the tabernacle of meeting which remains among them in the midst of their uncleanness. ¹⁷ There shall be ^(V)no man in the tabernacle of meeting when he goes in to make atonement in the Holy Place, until he comes out, that he may make atonement for himself, for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel. ¹⁸ And he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord, and make atonement for ^(W)it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar all around. ¹⁹ Then he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, cleanse it, and ^(X)consecrate^[b] it from the ^[c]uncleanness of the children of Israel.

²⁰ “And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place, the tabernacle of meeting, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat. ²¹ Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, ^(Y)confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, ^(Z)putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man. ²² The goat ^[d]shall ^(AA)bear on itself all their iniquities to an ^[e]uninhabited land; and he shall ^(AB)release the goat in the wilderness.

²³ “Then Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of meeting, ^(AC)shall take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the Holy Place, and shall leave them there. ²⁴ And he shall wash his body with water in a holy place, put on his garments, come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make ^[f]atonement for himself and for the people. ^25 (AD)The fat of the sin offering he shall burn on the altar. ²⁶ And he who released the goat as the scapegoat shall wash his clothes ^(AE)and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp. ^27 (AF)The bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be carried outside the camp. And they shall burn in the fire their skins, their flesh, and their offal. ²⁸ Then he who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp.

²⁹ “This shall be a statute forever for you: ^(AG)In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall ^[g]afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who ^[h]dwells among you. ³⁰ For on that day the priest shall make ^[i]atonement for you, to ^(AH)cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the Lord. ^31 (AI)It is a sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever. ^32 (AJ)And the priest, who is anointed and ^(AK)consecrated to minister as priest in his father’s place, shall make atonement, and put on the linen clothes, the holy garments; ³³ then he shall make ^[j]atonement for ^[k]the Holy Sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tabernacle of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. ^34 (AL)This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel, for all their sins, ^(AM)once a year.” And he did as the Lord commanded Moses.

The Sanctity of Blood

17 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to Aaron, to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘This is the thing which the Lord has commanded, saying: ³ “Whatever man of the house of Israel who ^(AN)kills an ox or lamb or goat in the camp, or who kills it outside the camp, ⁴ and does not bring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting to offer an offering to the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord, the guilt of bloodshed shall be ^(AO)imputed to that man. He has shed blood; and that man shall be ^[l]cut off from among his people, ⁵ to the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices ^(AP)which they offer in the open field, that they may bring them to the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, to the priest, and offer them as peace offerings to the Lord. ⁶ And the priest ^(AQ)shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and ^(AR)burn the fat for a sweet aroma to the Lord. ⁷ They shall no more offer their sacrifices ^(AS)to ^[m]demons, after whom they ^(AT)have played the harlot. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.” ’

⁸ “Also you shall say to them: ‘Whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, ^(AU)who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice, ⁹ and does not ^(AV)bring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, to offer it to the Lord, that man shall be ^[n]cut off from among his people.

^10 (AW)‘And whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who eats any blood, ^(AX)I will set My face against that person who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people. ¹¹ For the ^(AY)life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar ^(AZ)to make atonement for your souls; for ^(BA)it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’ ¹² Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘No one among you shall eat blood, nor shall any stranger who dwells among you eat blood.’

¹³ “Whatever man of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who ^(BB)hunts and catches any animal or bird that may be eaten, he shall ^(BC)pour out its blood and ^(BD)cover it with dust; ^14 (BE)for it is the life of all flesh. Its blood sustains its life. Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.’

^15 (BF)“And every person who eats what died naturally or what was torn by beasts, whether he is a native of your own country or a stranger, ^(BG)he shall both wash his clothes and ^(BH)bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. Then he shall be clean. ¹⁶ But if he does not wash them or bathe his body, then ^(BI)he shall bear his ^[o]guilt.”

Laws of Sexual Morality

18 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ^(BJ)‘I am the Lord your God. ^3 (BK)According to ^[p]the doings of the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, you shall not do; and ^(BL)according to the doings of the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you, you shall not do; nor shall you walk in their ^[q]ordinances. ^4 (BM)You shall observe My judgments and keep My ordinances, to walk in them: I am the Lord your God. ⁵ You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.

⁶ ‘None of you shall approach anyone who is near of kin to him, to uncover his nakedness: I am the Lord. ⁷ The nakedness of your father or the nakedness of your mother you shall not uncover. She is your mother; you shall not uncover her nakedness. ⁸ The nakedness of your ^(BN)father’s wife you shall not uncover; it is your father’s nakedness. ^9 (BO)The nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father, or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home or elsewhere, their nakedness you shall not uncover. ¹⁰ The nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, their nakedness you shall not uncover; for theirs is your own nakedness. ¹¹ The nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, begotten by your father—she is your sister—you shall not uncover her nakedness. ^12 (BP)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister; she is near of kin to your father. ¹³ You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is near of kin to your mother. ^14 (BQ)You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother. You shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt. ¹⁵ You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law—she is your son’s wife—you shall not uncover her nakedness. ¹⁶ You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness. ¹⁷ You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her ^(BR)daughter, nor shall you take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness. They are near of kin to her. It is wickedness. ¹⁸ Nor shall you take a woman ^(BS)as a rival to her sister, to uncover her nakedness while the other is alive.

¹⁹ ‘Also you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness as ^(BT)long as she is in her ^(BU)customary impurity. ^20 (BV)Moreover you shall not lie carnally with your ^(BW)neighbor’s wife, to defile yourself with her. ²¹ And you shall not let any of your descendants ^(BX)pass through ^(BY)the fire to ^(BZ)Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord. ²² You shall not lie with ^(CA)a male as with a woman. It is an abomination. ²³ Nor shall you mate with any ^(CB)animal, to defile yourself with it. Nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it. It is perversion.

^24 (CC)‘Do not defile yourselves with any of these things; ^(CD)for by all these the nations are defiled, which I am casting out before you. ²⁵ For ^(CE)the land is defiled; therefore I ^(CF)visit^[r] the punishment of its iniquity upon it, and the land ^(CG)vomits out its inhabitants. ^26 (CH)You shall therefore ^[s]keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations, either any of your own nation or any stranger who dwells among you ²⁷ (for all these abominations the men of the land have done, who were before you, and thus the land is defiled), ²⁸ lest ^(CI)the land vomit you out also when you defile it, as it vomited out the nations that were before you. ²⁹ For whoever commits any of these abominations, the persons who commit them shall be ^[t]cut off from among their people.

³⁰ ‘Therefore you shall keep My ^[u]ordinance, so ^(CJ)that you do not commit any of these abominable customs which were committed before you, and that you do not defile yourselves by them: ^(CK)I am the Lord your God.’ ”

Sins of Jerusalem

22 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Now, son of man, ^(A)will you judge, will you judge ^(B)the bloody city? Yes, show her all her abominations! ³ Then say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “The city sheds ^(C)blood in her own midst, that her time may come; and she makes idols within herself to defile herself. ⁴ You have become guilty by the blood which you have ^(D)shed, and have defiled yourself with the idols which you have made. You have caused your days to draw near, and have come to the end of your years; ^(E)therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all countries. ⁵ Those near and those far from you will mock you as ^[a]infamous and full of tumult.

⁶ “Look, ^(F)the princes of Israel: each one has used his ^[b]power to shed blood in you. ⁷ In you they have ^(G)made light of father and mother; in your midst they have ^(H)oppressed the stranger; in you they have mistreated the ^[c]fatherless and the widow. ⁸ You have despised My holy things and ^(I)profaned My Sabbaths. ⁹ In you are ^(J)men who slander to cause bloodshed; ^(K)in you are those who eat on the mountains; in your midst they commit lewdness. ¹⁰ In you men ^(L)uncover their fathers’ nakedness; in you they violate women who are ^(M)set apart during their impurity. ¹¹ One commits abomination ^(N)with his neighbor’s wife; ^(O)another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; and another in you violates his sister, his father’s ^(P)daughter. ¹² In you ^(Q)they take bribes to shed blood; ^(R)you take usury and increase; you have made profit from your neighbors by extortion, and ^(S)have forgotten Me,” says the Lord God.

¹³ “Behold, therefore, I ^(T)beat My fists at the dishonest profit which you have made, and at the bloodshed which has been in your midst. ^14 (U)Can your heart endure, or can your hands remain strong, in the days when I shall deal with you? ^(V)I, the Lord, have spoken, and will do it. ^15 (W)I will scatter you among the nations, disperse you throughout the countries, and ^(X)remove your filthiness completely from you. ¹⁶ You shall defile yourself in the sight of the nations; then ^(Y)you shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”

Israel in the Furnace

¹⁷ The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁸ “Son of man, ^(Z)the house of Israel has become dross to Me; they are all bronze, tin, iron, and lead, in the midst of a ^(AA)furnace; they have become dross from silver. ¹⁹ Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Because you have all become dross, therefore behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.

The Heavenly Sanctuary

¹¹ But Christ came as High Priest of ^(A)the good things ^[a]to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. ¹² Not ^(B)with the blood of goats and calves, but ^(C)with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place ^(D)once for all, ^(E)having obtained eternal redemption. ¹³ For if ^(F)the blood of bulls and goats and ^(G)the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, ^[b]sanctifies for the ^[c]purifying of the flesh, ¹⁴ how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without ^[d]spot to God, ^(H)cleanse your conscience from ^(I)dead works ^(J)to serve the living God? ¹⁵ And for this reason ^(K)He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that ^(L)those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

The Mediator’s Death Necessary

¹⁶ For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. ¹⁷ For ^(M)a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives. ^18 (N)Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood. ¹⁹ For when Moses had spoken every ^[e]precept to all the people according to the law, ^(O)he took the blood of calves and goats, ^(P)with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, ²⁰ saying, ^(Q)“This is the ^(R)blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.” ²¹ Then likewise ^(S)he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry. ²² And according to the law almost all things are ^[f]purified with blood, and ^(T)without shedding of blood there is no ^[g]remission.

Greatness of Christ’s Sacrifice

²³ Therefore it was necessary that ^(U)the copies of the things in the heavens should be ^[h]purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. ²⁴ For ^(V)Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are ^[i]copies of ^(W)the true, but into heaven itself, now ^(X)to appear in the presence of God for us; ²⁵ not that He should offer Himself often, as ^(Y)the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another— ²⁶ He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. ^27 (Z)And as it is appointed for men to die once, ^(AA)but after this the judgment, ²⁸ so ^(AB)Christ was ^(AC)offered once to bear the sins ^(AD)of many. To those who ^(AE)eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.